“With meditation, my anxiety levels dropped considerably. It seems to me that the mind is fuel to the fire of fear. The mind can make us worry about things beyond their measure. And the great thing about meditation is that twice a day, the monkey mind just calms down.”

“I really enjoy powering down for 20 minutes because it’s like shutting off light switches in my brain. I should make more time for it, but meditating even a couple times a week makes a big difference in my stress and happiness levels.”

“It’s just a way of focusing your energies. That you are not constantly at the beck and call of any regrets you might have about what happened in the past or unnecessary fears and anxiety you might have about what might be going on in the future that takes you out of the moment.”

“And, you know, with the continual responsibility of having 127 people on the road, and always being the point person for everything, my subconscious is going even when I’m sleeping. I’m dreaming about whatever I’m creating next, or relationships, or blah, blah, blah.

So I’m never really off. And meditation is actually the one time I get to really reset.”

Katy Perry: “I start the day with Transcendental Meditation. It puts me in the best mood. I wake up and just prop myself up in bed for 20 minutes. It’s the only time my mind gets absolute rest. When I am asleep, my subconscious mind is switched on and, when I am awake, I am alert.”

“In that meditative space I’m relieve of the constant thinking, the constant fear, the anxiety of being alive and not feeling like I’m good enough, the ongoing terror of death that lurks like a specter…”

“I come from a line of neurotic Jewish women who need Transcendental Meditation more than anyone. I have to tell you, it’s pretty charming to see a very well-dressed, anxious Jewish woman take a moment at her country club to say she needs to meditate.

“A lot of people don’t understand that voice in your head that is consistently going, or thinking. There is a way to take a break from that, and just kind of be in the moment. That is what that whole meditation is about. It’s just brilliant… It’s good to take a break from everything and just center yourself.”

“Stress is what ages people. Not sleeping, worrying about things that never happen, not eating right, not taking care of your body. I have just settled in with the “be here now” attitude in the last few years. Just meditate and grow some tomatoes. That’s what I do.”

“With the Seinfeld, I was doing a TV series in which I was the star of the show, the executive producer of the show, the head writer, in charge of casting and editing, for 24 episodes on network television—not cable—for nine years! And I’m just a normal guy. And that was not a normal situation to be in… So I meditated every day. And that’s how I survived the nine years.”

“It’s like taking your vitamins so you don’t get sick instead of getting sick and then having to take some medicine to make the sickness go away. Meditation erases the stress before it can take hold. It gives me the perspective to not take angry comments by strangers personally.”

Barry Zito: With TM, there’s no pressure or regimen. You can’t do it wrong. You just sit there, think your mantra as you were taught by your TM teacher, and relax, chill out.” (Photo courtesy of Aficionado Guitar)

“Transcendental Meditation helps you slow down. If you can slow down long enough to think clearly, you can start to not only manage that panic, but understand that what you’re so terrified of isn’t really that terrifying.”

“There’s a reason that all these [studies] come out that say, ‘What do the most successful CEOs and highest-paid moguls have in common? I think that life is stressful and it helps you cope with stress better than anything else I’ve tried.”

“It’s not one thing you can put a finger on. It’s like a kick start for your day, it just centers you and your stress levels are just down, you find yourself interacting in the world easier and better, in a calmer way. There’s a peaceful joy that comes over you. I don’t know how or why, it’s no rhyme or reason.”

“The busy life we lead today generates a lot of stress. We are overloaded with information and overcommitted to so many tasks in our homes, jobs, causes … I think meditation is a wonderful tool to deal with stress.”

“I have struggled with anxiety and depression in different manifestations for most of my life. I’ve been on and off medication from the time I was about 12 years old. My Transcendental Meditation practice has a great effect on me and my emotional wellbeing. When I skip practice, my world starts to crumble internally. My brain feels foggy, I’m irritable and I physically feel stress energy bubbling around my body.”

“I used to panic about everything – family, friends… I’d think, ‘Is that person okay? Can I fix this?’For the past year and a half it’s [Transcendental Meditation] really chilled me out, which is why I’m so strict with myself. If I miss one session, I don’t sleep nearly as well.”

“Since I started meditating, my stress and anxiety have totally gotten under control. I have terrible insomnia, and about a year ago I started doing TM. After four days of doing TM I could suddenly sleep. It was crazy. You don’t need the Ambien!”

“It turns out my skin problems were all stress related! I also don’t suffer anxiety the way I used to, which I can directly attribute to incorporating the Transcendental Meditation practice into my life.”